


possible we feel the same

by sond_sie



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Competition, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Multi, Polyamory, Popular Tyler Joseph, Prom, Punk Josh Dun, Super couple, popular jenna, school captain debby, they're all dumb as fuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 19:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18947035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sond_sie/pseuds/sond_sie
Summary: "you have got to be joking.""he got her afuckingkitten?"josh and debby steal the limelight from high school super couple tyler and jenna. they are quick to find ways to take it back, until they see something they're not supposed to.





	possible we feel the same

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer i do love debby i just haven’t figured out how to make the four of them work together yet i don’t even know what their ship name would be

he’s athletic, attractive, funny and star captain of the basketball team.

she’s gorgeous, sweet, bubbly and star captain of the cheerleading squad.

and together they’re not just tyler joseph and jenna black, but _tylerandjenna_. everyone knows who they are and  _everyone_  knows that they’re dating. both seniors, they’ve gathered a notorious following over the past few years. they’ve also found a close-knit group of friends who have never spread rumours about them or caused any unnecessary drama. most of them are basketball and football players and their respective cheerleader girlfriends. except for two.

debby ryan is the school captain, and the smartest student the school has seen in years. sometimes she sits with them and helps them out with homework, when she isn’t too busy keeping the school in order. and then there’s josh dun, the quiet tattooed boy with bright red hair and piercings. he sticks out from the rest of them painfully, but was welcomed in a few weeks ago after being introduced by debby one lunch time. she was helping him with a lit essay, and he stuck around even after it was handed in, having impressed the guys with his knowledge of basketball and the girls with his bright smile and backwards cap. tyler and jenna have never thought much about josh, apart from their brief discussions about how mysterious he seems and his obvious good looks.

this all changes when debby and josh approach the table hand-in-hand. it garners a few whistles from the boys and a litany of questions from the girls.

“when did this happen?” brad asks, eyeing their joined hands with a smirk. josh takes a seat next to tyler, debby perching delicately on his lap.

“joshie and i have been dating since i helped him with his essay,” she announces, curling a soft palm against the boy’s cheek. a chorus of ‘oooh’s’ are heard, pulling the attention from tables nearby. whispers start spreading immediately. tyler and jenna glance at each other apprehensively, not used to the spotlight not being on them. josh stays mostly silent, but smiles from behind debby’s hand and nods along to her answers.

“so tyler and i-“ jenna starts, but is quickly interrupted by debby’s giggles. jenna, open mouthed, turns toward debby in shock. josh continues to whisper into her ear as she laughs loudly. the rest of the table stares at them interestedly. tyler watches jenna as she scowls and stabs at her lunch. he already knows this isn’t good, that he’s going to have to flip the focus back to their relationship sooner rather than later. he beings to plan.

 

* * *

 

debby and josh, school captain and resident bad boy, continue to be the talk of the school for days to come. even tyler’s beginning to feel pissed off, and jenna appears downright homicidal. she’s resorted to sitting _in_  tyler’s lap at lunchtimes, always with a glare to the new couple at the other end of the table. it sparks a few comments from their friends, but it’s nowhere near enough attention to satisfy the cheer captain.

“you’re going to have to do something,” she tells tyler firmly after school one day that week.

“me?” tyler huffs, lining up for another three-pointer. the ball swishes through the net and jenna catches it, throwing it back to him with more force than usual.

“ _yes_  tyler!” she sends him one of her signature stares and he relents, jumping up to shoot another basket.

“okay, okay. i’ll think of something.”

this seems to please jenna, who passes the ball back a lot softer this time.

 

* * *

  

**jenna: tyler, where are you??? i WILL kill you (:**

it’s the third day in a row tyler has been MIA at lunchtime, and as far as jenna’s concerned his excuses have run out.

**tyler: look up**

jenna glances up from her phone just as one of her cheer friends grasps her bicep excitedly.

“jenna, look!” she points to the entrance, of the cafeteria. tyler is stood in the doorway, ukulele in hand. his soft strums can just be heard over the chatter, but his voice is loud and clear when he opens his mouth and sings.

_wise men say_  
_only fools rush in_

tyler steps further into the room, most of the chatter now dying away as he gains all the attention.

_but i can’t help_  
_falling in love with you_

jenna’s cheeks redden as she locks eyes with her boyfriend. she checks to see if debby and josh are watching - and she is not disappointed. josh is looking at tyler with a smile but debby looks furious, especially when she notices jenna’s smug look.

_shall i stay?_  
_would it be a sin?_  
_if i can’t help_  
_falling in love with you_

tyler’s reached the table, and as the last few chords fade away he grasps jenna’s chin and tilts her head up, pressing their lips together softly. the whole room erupts into applause, with many ‘awww’s’ and a handful of whistles too. they separate and tyler slides next to jenna on the bench, arm wrapping around her waist.

“you are so lucky!” the girls gush at jenna, who just smiles and moves closer to tyler. he sighs inwardly in relief that he pleased his girlfriend, and quickly glances up the table at debby and josh, who are in a deep conversation. debby looks like she’s instructing him very seriously, and josh just nods along. tyler’s heart sinks and he prays that she’s not telling josh he has to do something to retaliate, to make this some sort of _competition_. it would be the end of him.

 

* * *

 

as tyler’s luck would have it, josh and debby _do_ make it into a competition, about who can get the most attention or cause the most gossip in a day. only two days later, he hears conversations about debby’s locker being filled with rose petals, and just how _romantic_  her bad boy boyfriend must be. he dreads jenna’s reaction, and rightly so.

she is livid.

“i can’t believe them!”

tyler waits for his girlfriend to return her hand to his lap so he can keep painting her pinky nail. it’s a pastel blue today, and tyler’s secretly proud that she trusts him enough now to do it right.

“chill out, babe,” tyler replies without thinking. he winces as jenna tears her hand away again. her stare is icy.

“ _chill out?_   tyler, they’re taking over the whole school!”

tyler sighs internally, cursing josh and debby for even trying to challenge them. he’s pissed as well, but he’s not quite as vocal as jenna about it.

“okay, sorry,” he placates, “what should we do about it?” jenna’s hand returns to his lap once more, and he focuses back on dipping the brush in the polish.

“we’ll have to keep replying, whenever they pull something we gotta do something back.” tyler knows how fiercely determined jenna can be, it’s one of his favourite things about her. right now though, it intimidates him. jenna can tell, and she softens, cupping his cheek with her other hand.

“don’t worry, i’ve got some ideas…”

 

* * *

 

tyler doesn’t feel any less stressed at school the following monday morning. what doesn’t help, is seeing a crowd of people surrounding josh and debby by josh’s locker first thing after he enters. jenna stops walking abruptly and squeezes his hand almost painfully. from what they can see, debby is pressing a cloth to josh’s face, who has a black eye forming.

tyler feels a twinge of concern, but brushes it off as he’s dragged by jenna who storms past the scene. he catches eyes with josh, who grins at him. it’s sort of mischievous, like he knows the shit he’s causing for tyler by getting all this attention - and the ridiculousness of it makes tyler smile back briefly.

sometimes tyler thinks that he and josh could of been friends if it wasn’t for their girlfriends constantly feuding.

at lunch time, he’s heard all about how josh and another guy got in a fight after josh heard him say something bad about debby. he doesn’t know what was said, but he does know that it’s not the first time josh has been in a fight at school. still, it’s the first time he’s done it in his girlfriend’s honour, and people are eating it up. while jenna practices with her cheer team tyler decides to talk to him about it.

“did you really beat someone up for talking smack about your girlfriend?” he asks, sitting across from josh who is surprisingly without debby by his side.

josh seems startled at being addressed by tyler. cautiously, he looks around the room. tyler notices the bruising around his eye isn’t too bad, but he's never been punched in the face, so.

“nah, man. debby just told me to,” he replies.

“…she told you to fight someone?”

“no, she told me to say it was because of her.”

tyler processes this. josh doesn’t seem fazed, and continues to eat his sandwich. debby really is playing a game with them, he realises.

“so why’d you fight him?”

this time josh does look a bit apprehensive. he glances at tyler and then away again quickly.

“don’t take this a weird way, dude. they were talking about your girl,” he admits.

_his_  girl?

“jenna?”

“yeah, jenna,” josh repeats, and something about the way he says jenna’s name stirs something in tyler’s stomach. “they were saying some gross shit, just about how they’d like to get with her. sorry.”

tyler stares across the table, completely stumped. this guy he doesn’t even know, is supposedly his sort of rival, stood up for his girlfriend for no reason.

“thanks, man. you didn’t have to do that,” tyler says genuinely. josh smiles at him again, and the breath is almost knocked from tyler’s chest. he’s confused at why josh suddenly keeps making him feel this way, and gets up from the table, lunch half-finished. “i’m uh- i’m gonna go find jenna,” he lies. josh just waves goodbye.

 

* * *

 

 he doesn’t tell jenna about the real reason for the fight, but he does continue talking to josh at lunch times. and while tyler tries to ignore the new weird feelings he has about josh, the battle between _tylerandjenna_ and _joshanddebby_ continues.

a few weeks later, after josh’s eye has fully healed, tyler chokes when he spots him and debby down the hallway.

“you have got to be joking.”

“he got her a _fucking_ kitten?”

tyler chokes again, spinning to stare at his girlfriend. his good-girl, christian girlfriend who he has _never_  heard swear before. her eyes are fixed on the couple, and they harden when debby squeals, reaches for a small bundle of fur and cradles it to her chest. josh spots them, and sends tyler a sheepish grin, but it falls when he sees how furious jenna is. tyler pulls his girlfriend away, heart sinking when the hope of a friendship with josh fades away. he doesn’t notice jenna looking at him, or see her anger dissipate when she examines his frown.

 

* * *

 

 “so you want to be friends with josh now?” she asks tyler, pulling a batch of cookies from the oven at her house after school. he’s sitting at the bench licking the spoon, and jenna laughs when she sees the dough stuck to his face.

he wipes it off. “he’s actually a nice guy.”

“and his girlfriend?”

tyler rolls his eyes. “i won’t become friends with debby anytime soon.”

jenna walks around the bench and jumps up into his lap. her hairs up in a messy bun and there’s flour smeared on her arms and cheek, and tyler couldn’t really love her anymore than he already does.

“we can stop this competition thing,” she says quietly, weaving her arms around his neck. he peers up into her stark blue eyes, and she smiles comfortingly.

“are you sure?” he squeezes his arms around her waist, and she bends down to kiss him, tasting the cookie dough on his lips.

“i have a feeling you befriending her boyfriend will annoy debby even more,” she smirks. tyler laughs, jostling jenna.

“of course you still have an ulterior motive.” she smiles mischievously and pecks him once more before sliding off his lap. “i’ve still got one thing left planned,” tyler tells her, and she launches herself back at him, hugging him and almost knocking him off the seat.

“you’re the best,” she murmurs into his t-shirt.

 

* * *

 

 prom’s in a couple of weeks, and there’s a buzz throughout the school. everyone has caught onto the drama between _tylerandjenna_ and _joshanddebby_. there’s even an instagram dedicated to it - tyler really needs to track down the person who made it and tell them to shut it down. the last big event was josh presenting debby with a kitten in between math and science, so now it’s tyler’s turn. he knows it’s the last time he’ll have to do one of these gestures, so he’s determined to make it a memorable one.

he contacts (and bribes) some friends who run the tech stuff during school assemblies, and sends them the video he’d put together the week before. he makes sure he and jenna sit toward the front, and when debby is supposed to give a captain’s speech the plan is set in motion. a video suddenly starts playing, startling students and teachers alike.

it’s a montage of different clips of tyler and jenna. there's him painting her nails, her cooking them dinner, them playing basketball and walking along the beach together, them sitting by the campfire, jenna cheering him on and more. every student is either watching the video in awe, or staring at the couple. jenna’s eyes are shining, and she grips his hand in hers tightly.

“hi jenna,” video-tyler says into the camera. “i hope you like the video, but just in case it isn’t enough i have one more surprise for you.”

video-tyler then walks into a store behind him, and the next shot shows him sitting in a chair getting a tattoo on his upper arm. gasps echo around the room, including from jenna who turns to stare at him in disbelief. he stands, pulling her up with him. he lifts up his sleeve, and jenna’s lilting laugh resounds loudly. people are eagerly trying to see what it is, and excited chatter has broken out. while jenna giggles, tyler spots josh a few rows away, and feels almost as pleased with his impressed nod than with jenna’s tears.

the tattoo is simple. the word _prom?_  is printed in small text just above his elbow.

“will you go to prom with me?” tyler asks. jenna beams, crushing tyler in a hug.

“ _yes_ , you dork. i’ll go to prom with you.”

applause erupts around them and then spreads, until they sit down bashfully. tyler finally looks at debby, who seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. he feels kind of bad, especially for josh, but at least he knows it’s over now.

 

* * *

 

with great relief, people really do start to get over the whole debacle between the two couples. it becomes generally accepted that _joshanddebby_ can’t top tyler’s tattoo prom proposal, and life moves on. this means tyler’s allowed to build his friendship with josh, and jenna now welcomes him into conversation with them too. this does not mean, however, that debby approves of josh associating with them. she sends them all daggers whenever they’re spotted together, and josh attempts to keep his distance most of the time.

“i don’t know why he’s still dating her,” tyler says bitterly after josh is forced to stop talking to him and jenna once more. josh was just telling him about his favourite bands, to tyler’s delight. debby had seen them, and two seconds later josh was gone.

“it doesn’t make sense to me,” jenna replies. she seems just as annoyed at debby’s controlling actions, and has come to like spending time with josh as much as tyler does. they’re on their way to the mall to do some last minute shopping for prom next week. jenna insists tyler needs a new tie to match her dress. they both pointedly ignore that he had a matching blue one before she changed to a yellow dress a few days after josh dyed his hair that colour last week.

while tyler’s twirling different ties, jenna spots a familiar figure in the café across the shopping centre. it’s debby, but there’s no josh to be seen. _that’s not that weird,_  she tells herself, but she can’t help but feel uneasy.

“tyler,” she whispers harshly, despite debby being way out of earshot. he frowns, walking over to jenna with a tie slung over his shoulder. she points across at the café.

“that’s debby,” tyler says.

“yes, genius-“

jenna gasps. debby just greeted someone, with a _kiss._  and it definitely is not josh. and it was definitely too friendly for anyone who isn’t her boyfriend.

tyler slaps a hand over his mouth, wide-eyed.

“oh my god,” jenna murmurs. “tyler what do we do?”

debby and the guy are holding hands across the table now. tyler feels slightly sick.

“shit. josh. should we tell him?” he asks jenna in return. they both regard josh as their friend now, and they both care about him more than usual for a friend anyway. after shakily buying the tie and leaving the store undetected they decide that they owe it to their friend to tell him. tyler invites josh over to his place later that night, and with much coercion he finally agrees to come.

“hey dude,” josh greets as he enters.

“hey,” tyler replies meekly.

“jeez you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he comments as they make their way to tyler’s bedroom. “is something wrong?”

jenna’s perched on tyler’s bed when they enter, and she looks just as worried as tyler feels.

“you guys are freaking me out. you didn’t tell debby i was here did you?”

“um,” jenna starts, then coughs. josh stares side-eyed at them awkwardly.

“there’s something we should tell you,” tyler starts, closing the door. he looks to jenna, begging her to take over.

“we saw something while we were out shopping earlier,” she adds. josh shifts on his feet.

“what?”

“we saw debby- on a date with someone.”

josh stills, and stares at jenna eyebrows furrowed. tyler reaches a hand out to grasp josh’s shoulder, but he doesn’t move.

“we care about you, josh. you’re our friend. i’m sorry this happened.”

“you saw my girlfriend on a date with someone else?” josh asks skeptically, shrugging tyler’s hand off. they nod in unison.

“i thought you guys were actually cool,” josh says sadly, shaking his head. he leaves the room before the couple can blink, and rushes out the front door before they can stop him. tyler stands limply by the open door as josh’s car drives down the street. he’s surprised to feel a tear slip down his cheek. jenna pulls him into her arms.

“he didn’t believe us.”

 

* * *

 

 josh avoids them at school for the rest of the week, and to make them feel even worse he’s by debby’s side at every moment. tyler and jenna try to pretend nothing happened, but they both feel the loss of their new friend. they distract each other with plans for prom.

“my parents want you over for dinner tonight,” tyler tells jenna during lunch. “they love you more than me.”

jenna huffs with a smile.

“i’ll be there.”

dinner runs smoothly, like always. his parents really do love jenna, and he can’t think of a reason why they wouldn’t. she even brings over cupcakes, and special gluten-free ones for his mom. he knows he’ll get another lecture about not letting her go after she goes home.

right before dessert is being served there’s a knock at the door.

“i’ll get it,” tyler says, leaving the table. he doesn’t know who he’s expecting on the other side of the door, but it certainly isn’t _josh_ , shaking with red-rimmed eyes.

“can i please come in?” he asks weakly.

“of course,” tyler pulls him in. “go to my room, i’ll be one second.”

he walks back to the dining room. “it’s josh,” he tells jenna. she immediately stands up.

“who’s josh?” tyler’s dad asks.

“he’s our friend,” tyler replies, leading jenna from the room despite bewildered stares.

“hey,” jenna says quietly. she kneels in front of josh where he’s bent over, and gently pries his hands away from his face. she makes a soft noise when she sees he’s crying, and pulls him into her arms. tyler sits on josh’s other side, and rubs a hand comfortingly up and down his back.

after a few minutes he asks, “what happened?”

josh sniffs. “i saw her, with some guy. on a date, like you said. when i confronted her about it she said all this terrible stuff.”

“what did she say?” jenna asks, concerned.

“that she only dated me to improve her image. that she was ‘kind’ to date someone ‘below her’,” he mumbles. “she wanted to clean up my image to make herself look better.”

tyler’s blood boils, while jenna gasps.

“that’s horrible, josh. none of that is true,” she reassures him.

“i can’t believe i was so stupid not to believe you-”

“hey,” tyler interrupts, “it’s not your fault.”

josh gives him a watery smile, but then sighs.

“prom is tomorrow.”

tyler glances at jenna, and they have a silent conversation. in the past few weeks they’ve got to know josh they’ve both realised that the other likes him as more than a friend, but they haven’t talked about it yet.

“go with us,” jenna says. tyler thanks his lucky stars he ended up with the greatest girl alive, who understands his feelings without him having to ask.

“what?” josh chokes, looking between them.

“we like you, josh,” tyler continues. “we want to know you better.”

josh stares at tyler, seemingly trying to figure out if he’s joking or not. he glances down at his lips for a split-second, and tyler takes his chance. he presses their lips together and kisses him softly for a moment before pulling back. josh whips around to check on jenna, but she’s grinning. she leans in to kiss him too, cupping his cheek gently. when they part josh looks stunned, and tyler laughs.

“was that too much?” he asks. after a moment, josh smiles back at them.

“no,” he replies, “i want to know you better too.”

 

* * *

 

tyler, jenna and josh arrive at prom together, all matching in forms of yellow. whispers spread like wildfire, and it isn’t long before they’re all feeling moderately uncomfortable. josh feels like a major third-wheel, despite knowing tyler and jenna don’t see him that way. of everyone, though, debby is the most shocked. tyler stares her down from across the room, and she at least has the decency to act embarrassed that they know what she said.

they’re not quite sure how to navigate a dance floor with three people yet, and after an hour they decide to ditch the prom altogether. they’re attracting too many stares, and josh keeps trying to pretend he’s not watching debby, which is depressing for everyone. tyler drives them to one of his favourite spots, an old abandoned warehouse where you can climb onto the roof. they all stumble up in their best clothes, and laugh at the weirdness of it all.

jenna leans on tyler’s shoulder, and he wraps an arm around her waist. she’s wearing josh’s jacket, and the sight already warms his heart. he tentatively wraps the other arm around josh, pulling him in closer. the yellow-haired boy smiles, leaning in for a quick, shy kiss.

a few months ago, there wouldn’t have been anything _tylerandjenna_ would have sacrificed for the attention they’d receive during prom. the possibility of being crowned king and queen, slow dancing and showing off the perfect fairytale night. but here, in the middle of nowhere on top of a dusty old roof overlooking the city, they couldn’t really feel happier for how the night turned out. because they learned that they don’t need everyone else, just each other. as _tylerandjennaandjosh_.

 


End file.
